Aerial projectile goal



Jan. 14, 1969 A. M. SMITH ET AL AERIAL PROJECTILE GOAL Filed June 2, 1965 l NVENTORS zzzmzvzr United States Patent 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A recreational device comprising a horizontal hoop supported by an upright member and three vertical hoops mounted above and around the horizontal hoop the three vertical hoops are shaped to conform to an imaginary vertical cylindrical surface concentric with the axis of the upright member.

The present invention relates to a recreational device. More particularly, the invention relates to a recreational device which can be used in conjunction with a spherical ball by one or more persons or teams.

It is an object of the invention to provide a recreational device comprising a plurality of circular hoops.

It is another object of the invention to provide a recreational device which can be used simultaneously by a number of players or teams.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a recreational device of adjustable height which can be used by either children or adults.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the insight specification.

In its broad aspect, the invention relates to a recreational device comprising, in combination,

(a) A base,

(b) A first elongated upright hollow member supported by said base,

(c) A second elongated upright member telescopically and slidably mounted within said first member,

(d) Means for fastening said second member to said first member,

(e) A circular hoop horizontally disposed above the uppermost end of said second member concentrically to the axis of said upright members,

(f) Three spaced upright mounting rods having lower and upper ends, said lower ends being fixedly attached to the uppermost end of said second upright member and said upper ends extending past the plane defined by the horizontally disposed circular hoop, said hoop being removably attached to each of said rods at a position intermediate the lower and upper ends of each rod, and

(g) Three substantially circular hoops removably attached to the upper ends of said rods, vertically and spacedly disposed above said horizontally-disposed circular hoop.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is anisometric view of a preferred embodiment of a recreational device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device of FIG.l.

With continuing reference to the drawings, the illustrated device comprises base supporting elongated upright tubular member 11. The base, which should be preferably fabricated of molded fiberglass or high impactresistant plastic material of suitable thickness can be partly buried into the ground to provide maximum.- stability. Said base is provided with circular opening 12 which accomodates member 11 in a tight-fit relationship. The lower portion of member 11 extends through base 12 3,421,764 Patented Jan. 14, 1969 and is similarly partly buried into the ground for stability.

It should be understood that if one wishes to utilize the present recreational device indoor rather than outdoor, appropriate metal flanged collar fittings should be provided for fastening base 10 and upright member 11 to the floor.

A second elongated tubular upright member 13 is telescopically and slidably mounted within upright member 11 and is removably attached thereto in any desired position by means of screw assembly 15. Said screw assembly extends diametrically through suitable openings in tubular members 11 and 13. In order to provide height adjustability, upper member 13 is provided with a plurality of openings capable of accomodating screw assembly 14, said openings being spacedly disposed at regular intervals along the axis of said upper member.

To add to the stability of upper member 13, there is also provided tapered ring 15 which is internally threaded and is adapted to engage the matchingly-threaded upper outer section of tubular member 11.

Extending upwardly from said upper elongated member 13, and fixedly attached thereto, are three spaced rods 16, 17 and 18, disposed as to define a basket-like configuration. Removably attached to said rods 16, 17 and 18, at positions intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof, by means of suitable removable screws 19, 20 and 21, is horizontally-disposed circular hoop 22.

Vertically and spacedly disposed above said horizontally-disposed circular hoop 22 are three substantially circular hoops 23, 24 and 25, removably attached to the upper ends of rods 16, 17 and 18. Said vertical hoops, which are preferably bent as to conform to a vertical cylindical surface concentric with the axis of upright members 11 and 13, are attached to the upper ends of rods 16, 17 and 18 by suitable removable means, such as, for example, screw-and-plate assemblies 26, 27 and 28. In the most preferred aspect of the invention, the vertical cylindrical surface to which the vertical hoops 23, 24 and 25 are made to conform should be slightly larger than the annular plane defined by the circumference of horizontally-disposed hoop 22.

The operation of the device of the invention will now be readily understood in the light of the above description. The device is first installed on a level surface, indoor or outdoor, and the upper assembly thereof is positioned to the desired height by slightly moving upper member 13 with respect to lower member 11. When the desired height has been attained, the upper assembly is fastened into position by means of screw assembly 14 and tapered ring 15. The game can now be played with a standard basketball or with another suitable ball (depending on the size of the hoops furnished with the device).

The variations to which the present device lends itself are numerous. For example, vertical hoops 23, 24 and 25 can be removed and the game can be played using standard basketball rules, utilizing horizontal hoop 22 only. Alternatively, the vertical hoops can be provided in different colors and three teams allowed to play. A single vertical hoop could be assigned to each team and a point could only be scored by a particular team by projecting the ball first through the vertical hoop assigned to the team and then through the horizontal hoop. It is apparent that the versatility of the present device is only limited by the imagination of the participants.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it shall be understood that various changes can be made 3 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A recreational device comprising, in combination:

(a) a base,

(b) a first elongated upright hollow member supported by said base,

(0) a second elongated upright member telescopically and slidably mounted within said first member,

(d) means for detachably fastening said second member to said first member,

(e) a circular hoop horizontally disposed above the uppermost end of said second member concentrically to the axis of said upright members,

(f) three spaced upright mounting rods having lower and upper ends, said lower ends being fixedly attached to the uppermost end of said second upright member and said upper ends extending past the plane defined by the horizontally-disposed circular hoop, said hoop being removably attached to each of said ro'ds at a position intermediate the lower upper ends of each rod, and

(g) three substantially circular hoops removably attached to the upper ends of said rods, vertically and spacedly disposed above said horizontally-disposed circular hoop, and

(h) said three vertically-disposed hoops lying in a single cylindrical surface concentric with the axis of the first and second elongated upright member.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said cylindrical surface is of larger diameter than said horizontally disposed 10 circular hoop.

References Cited UNITED LOUIS G. MANOENE, Primary Examiner.

S. NATTER, Assistant Examiner. 

